Cultural appropriation a pointless charge

Posted
Wednesday, May 9, 2018 12:00 am

Tony Farkas

My heritage is one I’m super proud of, and I’m sure that most of you are, too.

As I began a closer inspection of it, I learned what it meant to be Hungarian, and about the past of course. Even moreso, I am learning about the culture, the cooking (oh, my, it’s fabulous) and the country’s place on the world stage.

There’s gorgeous embroidery, the best paprika in the world, and a strong Christian faith.

As I learn about this, I have been sharing that with just about everyone who would listen. I am extremely proud of what I’ve discovered, and I think anyone is equally as proud of their heritage.

So, when I heard the story about a girl who was being cyberbullied about wearing a Chinese-style dress to her prom, I was a bit puzzled.

Seems the white girl was accused, very disgustingly, of appropriating culture by wearing a dress.

Then I got even more confused.

One of the biggest issues facing the country today is immigration, and particularly the acceptance of other cultures. Then something like this happens, and I have to question if there really is a movement to embrace other cultures, or just a push to change the way people think.

If you’re going to demand that people be accepting of culture, lifestyle, beliefs, etc., don’t be alarmist when they embrace it to the point of using items like modes of dress or speech patterns. You can’t have it both ways.

Hypocrisy is an ugly word, but wholly appropriate here. The country is a melting pot of difference, and to expect people to come here and either remain insular — keeping to themselves, is in itself discriminatory.

By the same token, to come to this country, but demand that no one who is not of your particular group be allowed to portray any aspect of your group they found appealing is also discriminatory.

We’re not a bunch of different tribes in this country, fearfully worshipping our own idols while plotting to do away with the nonbelievers. If we’re to be stronger because of our differences, the we have to embrace that.

And that young lady is perfectly welcome to wear some of the dresses that are Hungarian-style. She would rock them.

•This week’s Headline of Note comes from Breitbart.com, and it’s a doozy: Transgender Inmate in NC Prison Sues for Right to Practice Witchcraft.

When I read that, I thought it was a spoof, or maybe a headline on a column that was discussing something outrageous. Instead, I find that this is an honest-to-God news story.

The Breitbart outlet has positioned itself as the anti-mainstream media, taking other outlets to task for false reporting or double standards. But it seems to me that in order to be taken seriously, then it should be covering serious news.

This is clickbait, salacious enough to draw viewers. But I guess that’s why it was run in the first place, just to draw viewers, because money’s the name of the game.